The Crystal Empire
by Depechemare
Summary: The Crystal Empire is back but not everypony is happy with the changes. Old factions from the reign of Sombra will collaborate and plot to overthrow the new Equestrian presence. Meanwhile Princess Cadence will have to adjust to the change in scenery, the change in her husband and the change in herself...
1. A Great Day

**A Great Day**

Today was a great day for freedom. Today was a great day for love and Harmony and Reunification. I couldn't believe that so much had happened in the span of so little time. The Stallion of my dreams was by my side, my husband dressed in his smart Uniform with a smile on his face that matched the smiles of everypony around.

I was in an elegant dress, my crown shining atop my brow and my happiness could not be understated. King Sombra had been officially destroyed for over a week now, the crystal heart, the heart of the Empire was back in it's rightful place and now the Empire was unified with Equestria. The future was looking bright for everypony and I hoped that it would continue to shine for a thousand years.

"What do you think of the reception?" my husband smiled at me as the roar of the crowds kept intensifying. I get waving and replied "Simply wonderful, I had no idea that Crystal Ponies would be so accepting. "This is the way I want things to be… forever" I said truthfully, tears coming to my eyes through sheer joy.

Shining smiled at me, those loving eyes coming out, one of the things I loved about him. "I'm not going anywhere" he replied and leaned forward as we kissed, a short kiss after all we were in front of our new Empire but nevertheless it was as if it lasted forever.

The crowds faded as we went inside, into the throne room where some generously lent guards sent by my Aunt were keeping watch, happy and content to be wearing the Crystal Armour co-designed by the fashionista Rarity, one of the saviours of the Crystal Empire.

An officer stepped forwards, I couldn't remember his name but Shining seemed to know him. "The castle is all secure sir, we have some patrols around the major attractions and the Crystal Heart and there is nothing unusual to report" the officer smiled as my husband looked at me. I knew he wanted to start his reminiscing with old friends so I nodded, rolling my eyes and replied "I'll be in my office" stepping away and letting stallions be stallions.

I decided to take a stroll through the castle, my new castle. It was hard to believe how grand it was. How many rooms, libraries, offices, dungeons, kitchens, ballrooms, dining rooms, throne rooms armouries and trophy rooms there were all with a Courtyard underneath where the Crystal Heart shone to the ponies.

That would likely become a sight of splendour in time when the tourism picked up. Aunt Celestia had already been so generous, sharing specialists and technicians with the local tradesponies to help them get back up to date whilst a small influx of small business ponies from Manhattan had already moved in and begun buying into the local market, flooding currency into the local economy.

In truth I imagined it would be a hard uphill climb but eventually The Crystal Empire would be the beacon of Equestria. It already stood as a symbol of love but in time it would be of love and prosperity with it's roots digging deep and it's ponies spreading throughout Equestrian.

I did a few circuits of the second floor and inspected some of the strange art of King Sombra we were still taking down in many places. He seemed to have a really bland taste as all his pictures were either of himself or the Crystal Empire as a Dark Capital with some kind of red Crystals rising to the skies.

I really had to stop thinking about Sombra though, it was a negative topic and negativity led to more negativity so I stopped and instead trotted to my office whilst wondering if Twilight was getting on alright now that she was back in Ponyville.

My hooves clopped on the marble floors, the only part of the castle not made of the strong crystal substance that made up everything else around the Empire and I entered it stunned to find another pony inside.

"Oh hello your majesty" the maid who'd obviously been cleaning the place said to me and I smiled. A crustal pony with a bright pink coat that easily outshone mine, covered by the ridiculously outdated maid attire she was wearing and a lovely golden mane that suffered similarly with a frilly hat, was staring at me with a feather duster in her mouth and an almost frightened expression on her face.

I was quick to remedy that saying "Please just call me Cadence, I know that it's a little strange to be back to work after 1000 years of limbo but don't worry I don't bite. What is your name?" I asked her.

She gulped and took the feather duster out of her mouth, replying "Sapphire you hig- I mean Princess Cadence." I chuckled and sighed well it's better than some of the things ponies have been calling me, like your excellence or your most divineness, anyway Sapphire I'm afraid this is my personal Office and only my hoof maiden can really clean here.

She seemed a little deflated and embarrassed, the blush still coming our of her crystal cheeks as she murmured "I'll just go and uh… clean the ballroom then your highness" but I held my hoof up to silence her. "Ridiculous, I don't as of yet have a hoof maiden, you're hired Sapphire and also please go and get changed out of that ridiculous uniform and into something more befitting the times, tell everypony else you meet that as well please."

The deflation and fear had all but gone and Sapphire now beamed and bowed "At once P-P I mean Cadence" and with that she rushed off as happy as a little filly. Turning frowns into smiles was naturally a speciality of mine but I was always pleased when I did it.

Now that I was here I could get some work done I supposed. Aunt Celestia had asked that I take the first few weeks easy, telling me "The Crystal Ponies are hard workers Cadence and have great pride in the Empire, they will easily fix any damages left by the King of Monsters and then work on building up the prosperity again" and as much as I believed that I still wanted to do my part.

So I began to fill out letters and invitations to foreign business ponies in Equestria. My hope was that they would open up chains and firms here and hopefully provide some of the services that we didn't have whilst generation some more revenue for the state.

I also hoped that some ponies would migrate and integrate with the Crystal ponies, hopefully sharing their knowledge of the world today with them and of the great Equestrian culture I knew and loved.

I was a little confused however when I couldn't find my primary stamp of authentication. My Royal seal if I was to use the proper term. I'd thought I'd left it on my desk but it was nowhere to be seen, then again the desk was a bit of a mess so it was likely buried.

I opened the drawer underneath and levitated out my backup seal, inking it up with some red ink before stamping it over the parchment. Then I rolled it up, put it through a band and put it to the side in what would become a pile of a few hundred by the end of the day.

Of course by the end of the day all the writing and stamping had blessed me by giving me a headache and a sore hoof. So after finishing the pile I yawned and stood up, deciding to go meet my husband for dinner.

I'd hoped his day had been more fun than mine, hopefully hanging out with old friends, hopefully not getting up to trouble as he had in his former years when we were both in school and so young, though that seemed as if it was forever ago.

He had been always glancing at me, afraid of direct eye contact, always trying to work up courage to finally talk to me and always blowing it if he did. It was a good thing that he had a baby sister or else I'd have never gotten close enough to him.

So of course I picked her brains for information on him, Twilight more than happy to share with me every little detail about her brother, swearing to never tell him. I wondered briefly if she still remembered that silly little oath as I entered the dining room where I found Shining talking with a palace chef.

"Yes that will be fine thanks, no we're not a hundred ponies just that thank you Penine" I heard him finishing up as the Chef whisked himself away and Shining lovingly strolled over and planted a kiss on my cheek.

"Somepony's been very bust" he mused, looking at my hooves, slightly stained with ink and I chuckled "Well Somepony had to do some work today, what kind of rulers would we be if we had the day off everyday?"

"Extremely happy Rulers?" he asked and I laughed and replied "Bored out of our minds rulers more like it Shiny, but it's cute that you think we wouldn't kill each other if we had nothing to do for a week."

Shining smiled as he brought me over to the large dining table that could seat over a hundred ponies, now only set for two. "I could think of some things to do" he whispered into my ear before we sat down facing one another.

I blushed, I couldn't help it but smiled back at him as our food came along, carried by the staff of the castle, all bearing smiles on their faces. "You know we should have a feast for all the staff one day where we serve them all the food and they get to enjoy themselves" Shining chuckled.

"I think that's a great idea Shiny! Heh, it would be a busy night but what better way to show our appreciation to them?" Shining smiled that nice smile again and joked "We should ask them to set the table so that I'm at one end and your at the other, we'd need messaging birds just to talk to each other."

We talked about other great ways to take advantage of the huge dining table as we finished our food, severely pampered and happy.

"You want to go to bed Shiny?" I yawned, stretching and unable to help myself, shoving royal etiquette to the side. Shining smiled but a sudden frown crossed his head and he shook himself slightly.

"Is something the matter dear?" I asked a little worriedly but he shook his head and grinned "No Cady, just feeling a little light headed, it's all this I mean to think about it I married the mare I love, became a Prince after helping defeat an evil tyrant and found out that I should have been on the javelin team at school."

I chuckled, remembering how he threw me from the balcony with enough force for me to catch Spike the dragon with the crystal heart and win the day. "Well I'm tired, you going to come to bed with me honey?" I asked but he shook his head.

"I… I'm going to take a small walk, I just need to clear my head it's fine I'll be along in a few hours" he said as he touched his horn and smiled, "Goodnight Cady, I love you. Don't wait up" and with that he stood up and walked away.

I didn't plan to but nevertheless I asked "You sure you don't want company?" He shook his head and I could see that he needed some alone time. I could respect that, so much happened in such a short amount of time my head was also swimming with thought and my imagination just kept growing for what would happen next.

"Well I have the Prince, I have the Kingdom and the loyal and happy subjects… I suppose the only thing left is a family, a foal or two maybe and maybe a royal pet, like Aunt Celestia or Twilight have."

The thought of having foals excited and scared me but it was guaranteed to terrify Shining much more so maybe a few months would be required before we made the front page of Equestria Daily, the hit newspaper.

Which reminded me that the Crystal Empire needed its own newspaper, though that of course could wait. I stood and trotted over to the balcony, all was quiet and dark now, the stars out and shining bright in the night sky.

"Goodnight Crystal Empire" I murmured and was surprised when I saw a few blotches of light flash at me from the middle of the city. I chuckled and imagined some kids were playing with flashlights, I turned my back smiling, never having felt more happy than now.


	2. Discontent

**Discontent **

I flashed the light on and off for a few more seconds before I saw the small caravan of ponies quickly dart over from the street opposite. I knew that there were no guard patrols as there had been in the times of King Sombra but still somepony could see and then questions might be raised.

I headed downstairs to where my older brother Jet was waiting. His mane was alike that of Jet crystal and his mane was the colour of a grey sky and his eyes that burned with the passion of the Empire were that alike an eagles, ever vigilant and watching.

To say I looked up to my brother was an understatement, I basically modelled myself off of him. He was strong both mentally and physically, had the wit of a philosopher and the leadership of a King, well not a King Sombra but a fair King.

I was nothing like him, I had a ruby coat and a burgundy mane that were both far too mareish I thought. I wasn't as strong, as smart or as talented as he was, my special talent being that of organising whilst his was one of leadership.

Still we were brothers and we stuck together, like we always had and now was a big moment for us. My brother looked over at me and I nodded, he sighed and murmured "So here we go. Let's just hope this doesn't end up in a brawl eh Siam?" and with that we entered through to the front of the bakery where we had set up for now.

There were roughly 40 ponies all crammed into the front, curtains were drawn in front of the windows and lights were dimmed as we stepped behind the counter, and listened to the chatter of the ponies we'd grown up around. Some we hated and some we admired.

There was a few business ponies who had once been owners of multiple establishments across Equestria now they had only their businesses here left in the city. There were rebels, those who opposed King Sombra, who sabotaged the mines and tried valiantly to free ponies. There were old city officials, now ousted from power thanks the takeover from Equestria. Then most shockingly to everypony was the small contingency of officers of the Sombra Royal Guard.

Dressed in their black armour, their eyes that alike cats and their teeth barred they were frightening but even more so was their loyalty to their leader, even if he was dead and buried.

"What's the meaning of this meet? Why are they here!" shouted a rebel whilst some other ponies argued and whined to each other about the pony next to them. In truth these ponies had nothing in common and I was beginning to wonder if this was a actually a good idea when my brother finally spoke up, his voice shattering the others complaints. "We are all here today, to discuss the future of the Crystal Empire."

Everypony was eyeing him and I couldn't help but blush, my shyness coming out as I kept well behind him. "We are all or were all leaders and ponies of position at one point in the Empire, we have influence and respect among our followings. As you know the tyrant is dead. For most of us here that is a blessing and for some that enrages you to he point you would have us struck down."

Just having said that there officers did seem to snort and I imagined the dark magic that they could have once unleashed upon us, now gone with Sombra.

"Regardless of your thoughts I want us all to draw our attention to the new threat poised against the Empire. A threat that comes from Equestria and is now sitting in the throne room of the palace", murmurs sounded all round and some ponies nodded as my brother said "Princess Cadence is the pony whom I'm talking about."

A fat business pony spoke up saying "But she was the one who protected and saved the Empire from Sombra they say she has a direct tie all the way back to Princess Amore, our last great ruler before Sombra killed her."

The old guard seethed in fury at hearing this but my brother kept all eyes on him as he calmly yet firmly explained "Her family ties are vague at best and although she saved us, do you not all think it unfair that she is now ruling us? What gives her a right? She doesn't know our ways, Doesn't know our wants. She is an outsider and answers to Equestria as proven in this letter from her aunt!" he declared, holding up the parchment which he then passed round for ponies to authenticate.

This letter awards Princess Cadence and Shining Armour the Crystal Empire which is now _rejoined _ with the rest of Equestria. Do you not see we've been assimilated into a country! Annexed with a puppet ruler now on our throne, one tyrant for another friends."

"Where did you get this letter!?" an old guard pony spat and my brother cooly replied "I have contacts within the palace who are right now working on gaining the trust of the Princess and have already gained valuable intel."

There were a few nods but for the majority there were shaking heads, barred teeth and angry calls of idiocy were directed towards Jet. "You are a fool, they saved us" they said and another cried "So what? We're happy and free now this is the peace we wanted."

This all went on for ten minutes as my brother brought his hoof down once more, drawing the attention of everypony as he explained more tiredly "I asked you here today to consider our future? A future with no Kings or Queens on the throne and no blue bloods to tell us what to do. A future of democratic representatives elected by the Crystal Ponies, for the Crystal Ponies who would govern and decide our laws and policies. A Crystal Republic."

It was an amazing dream to think about, we'd not heard much of the outside world but things were still the same as when we left. A ruler sat on the throne in all the kingdoms and dictated the way things worked. Ponies were happy but they certainly were not free.

"This is a waste of my time, I have a cake factory that will be upgraded with modern equipment and receive loans to expand into the Equestrian market, keep you crummy little rebellious plans you ungrateful mongrels!" and like that the business ponies all left, not one staying behind and considering the future.

"We have fought for peace and prosperity for so long and now it is here. The Equestrians offer us that peace and we shall not throw it in their faces. Cadence is a fair and just ruler and we will have no reason to join this new rebellion" the slim leader of the rebels shot at us as she and the majority of her followers left, one or two staying behind.

"W-W-We must say that the thought of a democratic Crystal Republic excites us and we although cast out as old fashioned and as followers of the evil Sombra wish also for peace, which is why the majority of us must decline" said one of the bumbling ex-city officials as most of his group also filed out of the store and into the dark night.

That left the old Guard, the ones we expected to co-operate least and their leader, the terrifying Captain Bermuda with his snake tongue hissed "Theresss only one true lord whom we ssseerve. You havvven't won us over with your pathetic little wordsssss, long live the king, death to Equestria and all traitors!" and with that they saluted and all left, no pony staying behind from them either.

I looked along with my brother at all who remained. Two rebels and three city officials all stood together in the now very quiet bakery. "This has gone way better than expected" my brother whispered to me as I stared wide eyed and he clapped his hooves together.

"Friends, this is a monumental occasion, today is the day that we officially found the Crystal Republican Movement! A movement of action but careful and hopefully peaceful at the same time. As small a following as we are now, we shall grow in size when the word gets out and hopefully we shall be able to stir up enough of a fuss that the Princess will talk to us" my brother announced.

It seemed like a weak statement but coming from him it sounded like a real plan and immediately there was a small cheer and great excitement among the small group we'd gathered. "Now I ask that we reconvene here in two nights to work on the details, in that time get in contact with ponies you know and who might be interested but make sure that you tell no guards or rats, this movement must be kept a secret for now."

The five nodded, united in their tasks now as they all saluted and bid farewell exiting the doors and quickly slinking away into the night and hopefully to their respective areas of influence.

My brother sighed and hit his head against the counter. "That was tough" he murmured as the door shut. I went over to him and patted him on the back saying "You did good bro, I mean they listened to you and it looked even like the old Guard were interested at one point.

He smiled at me and ruffled my hair "You're a good little brother Siam" he chuckled as I shook his hoof off. "Damn it I'm not a colt anymore Jet" I chastised as he replied "Well by the way you kept behind my back and said nothing it seemed like it. You knew the speech and the plan, you could have co-explained."

I blushed at that, he was the older brother, always the talker and the swindler and the romantic. I was always the little colt who stayed back and watched behind the corner and had trouble talking to ponies, it was natural I suppose that Jet got all the confidence in the family and the looks and the muscle and the brains and I got the… the… typing skills? I wasn't really sure but I didn't mind.

"You have great potential Siam, I want you to step in, in future alright?" he asked and I nodded, not promising anything but who knows? Maybe the moon would turn red and the sun would explode into a fantastical display.

He looked at me and I looked at him and he sighed. "I miss her too bud" he remarked and we both looked around the old bakery. It hurt so much to remember our foalhoods here although the end of mine signalled the rise of Sombra and the end to the happy life we'd once had.

"Remember we do this so that we can guarantee nopony else ever gets hurt" he choked as memories came back that we both wanted buried. I swallowed and nodded as we put our heads together "Till the end" he uttered and I repeated "Till the end" as a tear slipped out of my eye.


	3. Bad Dreams

**Bad Dreams**

I gasped awake, panting heavily with my chest raising up and down. I was sweating and felt a horrible fear in my gut from the nightmare I'd just had. "H-Honey are you awake?" I asked the lump next to me, putting a hoof on Shining's back.

To my absolute horror when the lump turned over it was the King of Monsters himself, Sombra with his glowing purple and green eyes, his evil jet black coat shining and his horn and fangs pointed and menacing, looking ready to stab somepony. "Something wrong Princess?" he chuckled and that's when I truly woke up.

My heart was racing as I realised I had been dreaming deeply and was now finally awake. I had been crying but all the previous symptoms had carried over, feeling just as real as they had previously.

"Honey is everything ok?" Shining asked me, turning over and showing his beautiful face with his bright blue eyes. I smiled and as his hoof came down and wiped away my tears and replied "Just a nightmare Shining, nothing to worry about. I think I was working too hard yesterday, I'll relax a little today and oversee some smaller tasks" I told him, not wanting to talk about the dream.

"Alright but stay a little longer, it's still early" he said wrapping a hoof around me in a way that didn't exactly grant me permission to say no. "Do you think that we'll be alright?" I found myself asking and he cracked an eye open and asked "hmm?"

It was an odd thing to be worrying on an early Monday afternoon but I never the less asked "Do you think that we'll be alright you and I? I mean the danger is passed but in the long term? I mean there are I suspect plenty more crises to come."

Shining chuckled a throaty chuckle and replied "Well now who is a pessimistic pony today? We'll be fine hon, for now at least. I'm sure in twenty years time we'll both hate each others guts but until then can we enjoy the youthful romance and all the snuggles?"

I sighed contentedly at him and settled into his embrace, feeling his chest heave heavily every time he breathed. "Such a gentle pony" I thought. "I suppose the core reason among many as to why I married him."

I was able to maybe get another few hours sleep, waking up to the beginning of the afternoon with Shining already left to likely go and address the troops. "Typical, makes me sleep in cause he's concerned" I thought as I myself got up and prepared to get ready for the new day.

After trying to fix my mane and eating breakfast I opted to go to my office, amazed to find it cleaned and all the invitations of yesterday missing from the premises. "Good morning your majesty" came a voice from behind and I turned to see Sapphire wearing a much more modern dark blue dress that really brought out her coat more.

"Sapphire did you do all this I asked?" although it might have sounded more like an accusation. She was a little unsure what to say at first, going "uh" before I went over to her and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Don't be nervous around me Sapphire, you've done a great job I mean I've never seen a tidier office and I've seen my share of messy Royal offices."

She seemed appreciative of me saying this but she still seemed to have that fear there, behind her eyes where she thought I couldn't spot it, obviously the remnants of the tyrant Sombre was some baggage for her like it was for most crystal ponies.

"I'm pleased that you have cleaned my office, believe me I was never going to get round to doing it but I want you to relax, I mean you look so regal" I told her and Sapphire sniffed replying "Thank you Princess Cadence for the opportunity to be your hoof maiden… I wasn't sure if you were joking with me or not."

I laughed and walked her to the chair opposite my desk and sat her down, taking my seat behind my desk and asking "What do you think is a problem in the Crystal Empire right now? Give me an insight."

She was surprised, almost shocked when I asked this and asked "W-Why do you want me to tell you Princess?" She was a little shaky I noticed and realised that Sombra had made an even worse impression of what a Royal was than I had in my few days of ruling.

"I know Sombra probably made a scary impression of rulers but believe me he's gone and I promise to rule the Crystal Empire fairly and without fear. So no Crystal Mines, no forced Labour, no ponies being locked up or snatched in the night. From now on there will be nothing to fear."

She seemed to have calmed down a little and after a few moments she murmured "T-There used to be a-a-a lot of Bakeries in the north b-but the King closed them all down and sent the owners to the… to the eastern ridge mine" Sapphire stopped herself as her lip quivered and some terrible memory surfaced so I asked "What happened in the eastern ridge mine?"

Sapphire was now not afraid to let her tears flow as she explained "The King ordered new tools and new extraction techniques to be tested there and… there was a huge collapse and a few hundred ponies d-didn't m-m-make it… my parents were in there and they…" she couldn't keep it together anymore obviously but I was already out of my seat and hugging her fiercely.

"I had no idea" I said as I hugged her, feeling fresh salty tears soaking into my coat and feeling like complete crap for having caused it. I knew there were deaths under the Sombra regime but I never heard whisper of so many accidental deaths or the such. Then again I also knew most records in Sombra's office had been destroyed along with all the decrees and documents.

It was clear now why Sapphire was so jumpy and full of fear, I myself didn't know what I would do if a loved one ever passed away I mean if Shining had died I would be lost.

I waited until she was sufficiently calmed down and run out of tears to explain "We're going to re-open these bakeries with grants to whatever families are left in the North and there will be a statue commissioned for the fallen of those from the mines placed looking towards the east."

Sapphire looked through red and teary eyes and mumbled "T-T-Thank y-you P-Princess." I smiled and told her, "Go and get cleaned up and I'll see you in the throne room in an hours time."

She bowed and immediately left, trying not to show her teary face. I sighed and sat back down. "Damn" I thought to myself, feeling a little sick as I picked up my parchment to start writing the necessary decrees to get those grants and those statues made.

It wasn't an easy think to think about, dead ponies and tears were not the way to start the new week and I cursed myself for being too cheerful. These ponies were happy but not all of them could simply drop all ties to the past and forget the injustice served upon them.

"I'll also mention a remembrance day" I thought as I yawned and stood up, heading for the throne room where I was going to hold my first ever Royal Appointments in which I had witnessed my aunt hold hundreds of time.

It was a good idea to help the ponies of the realm solve their problems and kept the ruler in touch with their subjects. They would book appointments and over maybe 10 minutes in which I would listen to them and and aid them. I would help ponies in disputes, with their ideas for business and technology and whatever jams they were in for the span of a few hours.

Sapphire was back, waiting behind the throne, looking much better than last time. The poor dear had obviously been through a lot, every pony had and I might be rejoicing in victory and peace but there was a percentage out there who'd be scarred for years to come.

"Princess, I'm so sorry" she tried to begin but I waved her silent and told her "Don't worry about it, you've made me think deeply on the matter and I am going to think of ways to rectify this" she seemed as if she had more to say but she remained close lipped and I nodded to a nearby guard who had been briefed on what to do by the scribes I kept ordering around every morning at breakfast who were the real backbone of ruling, doing all the running around and sorting out.

The first ponies to be received by Royal Appointment came in and amazingly they were a couple who wanted my blessing of marriage which I of course gave immediately after congratulating them. I sorted through another fifty ponies problems after that, it was incredible that some were little problems, simple questions needing answers and others required a trial almost and came with verbal taunts and threats over land and stolen goods.

Majorly though it was a good day when the sun began to descend and my appointments ended. "That was the last pony Princess Cadence" the guard beside my throne bowed and slowly, without turning walked away, closing the doors behind him.

I inhaled and exhaled sharply, pleased with the lighter, more personal work I'd done to day but still feeling a little drained from all the problem solving. Sapphire too seemed a little weary, she had been standing by my side all day, fetching water or parchment or whoever was needed and aiding me in general.

"Good job today Sapphire" I told her. "I think we're done for the rest of the night, please go and have a good sleep, I'll see you in the throne room at breakfast time tomorrow thank you" and with that I stood up and stretched, my back hurting a lot.

Sapphire bowed and gratefully backed away, uttering "Goodnight your majesty" before she exited through the staff doors.

All was now quiet in the throne room, there were two guard on duty, standing by door on the authorised of the room but they made no sound and moved not an inch, their training not permitting them to show any emotion but their eyes scanning everything without moving.

"Creepy" I thought as I trotted down the stairs that led to my throne just as my husband Shining came in looking as if he had been running a marathon in his full set of battle armour. "H-Hi honey" he wheezed as I quizzically stared at him.

"What are you doing exactly darling?" I asked him a little bit unnerved by it all. He caught his breath as he explained "I-I was just… testing the new crystal pony recruits on their dexterity in galloping around the castle whilst in full battle armour. They should be arriving in a few moments, I seemed… I seemed to eclipse them all" he grinned at me.

I rolled my eyes at the obvious display of machoism and asked "So if you raced your old comrades, the trained Canterlonian guards you'd also be here first, panting heavily and wheezing?" He smiled that same damned, loveable smile again and came over to me, levitating his helmet off and asking "How was your day?"

I frowned, unsure how to put it in any great light so I simply replied truthfully by saying "Not so great, a lot of old emotion from Sombra, some work with ponies requiring aid just an ordinary day really, they'll improve in time. I don't really need to ask what you've been doing" I said as the first of the wheezing recruits arrived, armour clanking and bits falling off as he collapsed.

I stared at Shining Armour and asked "Why are you so mean to them?" He shrugged and defended "Hey, my first day was much worse, they made me spar with a pony dressed as a Manticore and took away all my magic."

I humorously chuckled and kissed him, detesting the sweaty grime he was covered in. "You really are a piece of work Shining Armour, now go and get changed for dinner" I ordered. He saluted saying "Yes my Princess" before jogging off to go shower, passing his collapsed recruit and ordering "Good enough Dancer, tell the others the exercise is over when they arrive."

Dancer wasn't moving but his chest was still rising, obviously having passed out from the physical tests. I walked past him and told the two guards by the door "Make sure he and any other pony staggering this way don't die of heart attacks."

They saluted and I left them to their own devices, planning to have a normal dinner with my husband and a normal night without any distractions.


	4. Buried Memories

**Buried Memories **

"You're sure we can trust her?" Jet asked me as he lit another lamp. Electricity was a thing we had believed only came from the sky during storms but apparently it had been harnessed to do other things and had actually already been installed inside the castle, with plans to renovate over three quarters of the buildings in the Crystal Empire by the end of next year. Until then however we were very content with the candles and lamps we possessed.

"I've known her since we were 3, she's my closest friend almost like a sister to me. She's lost everything, she won't surrender the movement to anypony" I told my brother as he finished writing what must have been the 50th page of the Manifesto he'd set about writing over a week ago that he intended to be the draft for the democratic rule he'd set in place when we eventually, peacefully caused the abdication of the Royals.

"Subterfuge and secret networking is a tricky business, I'd have preferred more rebels to have joined our movement so that we could have expanded and began operating faster but we have what we have. How many ponies have the leaders of yesterday rallied to their banners and thus ours?" my brother asked me as he neatly arranged the pile.

I swallowed as I flicked through a clipboard and replied "A total of 39 ponies with 3 maybes if they see us actually operating in the open." The figure was not even a dent in our population, The Crystal Empire was around 45,000 ponies, a lot of ponies by the standards of a 1000 years ago but now I heard that cities in Equestria such as Manehattan and Canterlot had hundreds of thousands of ponies of all races.

Though I was doubtful of some new information however, though the new invention of the train was one I had witnessed along with everypony else, a rail connection already existed between the gates of the Crystal Empire and Equestria and every day supplies from the country flooded in, books to update our libraries, machinery for our factories and of course letters for the Princess, letters that seemed to cement that this aid was all a sham to simply annex the Crystal Empire into the Equestrian Kingdom.

Back on the issue of members however my brother was thinking deeply over the figures I'd told him and stood up explaining "This is a little bit concerning, I had hoped for almost a hundred but I suppose we are lucky to get what we get. What we really need are industrialists, ponies of wealth to help fund us, or at least some way in which we can draw funds to our cause, posters, flags and signs don't make themselves and we have no way of buying materials, ponies cannot get behind us unless we show our image, voice our opinions and what we stand for, what we stand against!"

Jet was a great speaker and a great leader but he could really talk for hours about anything that bothered him if nopony was there to stop him he'd talk or should I say rant for hours about the topic he'd picked a fight with that day.

That's of course why he'd been one of the main supporters of freedom in the time of Princess Amore, the traditional but much beloved Princess of the Crystal Empire. A Princess I actually quite liked, even seeing once at the Crystal Faire when she always made a small speech about the Empire and how she would continue to protect it from anypony and everypony until the sun died.

Well until she was killed, reports were sketchy but most ponies believe that upon catching Sombra stealing the Crystal Heart she attempted to turn him around, only to be turned to stone before finally being split into hundreds of little bits and scattered who knows where?

Even my brother was shocked hearing of her death and still described her as "A worthy ruler but none the less a dictator" which might not be seen by all as a quote to really frame her sheer beauty and Radiance.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza had a suspected lineage to Princess Amore, she had the wings to prove it along with some name resemblance but then when ponies asked for verification through Canterlot we only got letters of declination sent back and apparently one didn't need to be born an Alicorn these days though I would imagine it impossible to turn a pony into an Alicorn unless you had some special magic and even then it sounded ridiculous.

I smiled coming back to reality as my brother thought deeply on where we were going to be getting funds from. "I have these brother, question her loyalty all you want but Sapphire has been amazing these past few days. The Royal Seal of the Princess and a letter with her handwriting. We have supporters with skills in calligraphy, we can get however much money we want from the very country we shall be combating"

My brother blinked at me and grinned his victory grin, standing up and patting me roughly on the side, ruffling my hair again even though he was but a few inches taller than me. "You are bloody amazing Siam you know that" he grunted, finishing his little celebration by kissing me on the forehead.

"We'll ask a special request be delivered to an Imperial Bank account number we shall open tomorrow, we won't ask for staggering amounts of money, they'll figure it out if we break the bank but they will deliver enough to start us off until we find backers… well done brother" he finished again as he marvelled at the seal.

"To think that Sapphire can get so close to the Princess. Just goes to show that Equestria may have gotten a technological and magical upgrade but the same mistakes are still being made that were being made in Amore's time."

I frowned and said "Sombra never made those mistakes, he inspected all his staff, all his guards and everything really so carefully that every aspect of their lives he'd know about. If he suspected them disloyal or of small use he'd send them to the mines, if he considered them to be loyal with the intentions of following his evil will then he'd make sure they were comfortable and treated like he himself was treated."

Although my words might be seen as admiring I actually did admire Sombra. A Pony with a rough backround, shunned by the most ponies who'd somehow unlocked dark magic that he'd used to corrupt minds, bend ponies wills, to kill, to torture and manipulate his way to King had it not been for the Princesses of Equestria.

Even so 1000 years of limbo was a price to pay for his destruction and now being subjugated to Canterlot our knights in "Shining Armour" I guess you could say.

"He could return you know?" my brother put towards me as I was thinking about Sombra. I shook my head and replied "I was there when we got the memories back dear brother, we saw him extinguished, his power no more, the crystal heart eliminated his shadows and melted the blizzard and now we can at least not worry about being snatched in the night."

He shook his head and chuckled replying "Think that if it helps you sleep at night dear brother but I know he's still out there, don't ask for proof as I have none. He built so many secrets, tunnels and catacombs beneath the city, in his mines. Developed so many powerful magical formulae, he's got more than a single ace up his sleeve. You don't get to be the King of Monsters unless you have these things."

I waved his idea away, not needing anything else to worry about as I set away all our notes and his Manifesto. "You are just being pessimistic, rejoice for today we have peace and tomorrow we have freedom."

Jet smiled at my enthusiasm but he was disguising his true feelings, most ponies couldn't tell but being his brother for the past 19 years had taught me some things about him, subtle tells that spoke mountains of how he was feeling.

"Something deep is troubling you brother? Is it to do with the movement?" I asked him curiously but he shook his head and replied "No Siam, I'm thinking about… thinking about Mom and well Amore's days. I mean you wouldn't remember as you were only 5 but I wanted to be a soldier at 16, to march around all day protecting the Princess and fighting monsters that came from over the mountains at night."

Jet never liked talking about the past so he must have been really hung up on something lately or stressed out to be digging it up. "I could never imagine you being a soldier" I chuckled lightly, trying not to upset the delicate mood which had fallen over the room.

I wanted to go to the academy and everything but… I don't know I suppose when Mom's business failed and we were down on our luck I began to despise the rich and the Elite, look where that took me? Ten years of standing up and ranting about the throne before Sombra came to power and wiped out that system in a few days."

My my eyes softened, remembering the times, they'd been hard on us, the country was in general struggling as the economy hiccuped. Maybe Amore could have changed things, maybe got us back on track. It didn't really matter as after that Sombra had come along and the rest was history we'd all like to forget.

"All I recall is that Mother called you her little rebel and that you would grow out of your silly ways and get a proper job working in the local community centre" I said and Jet laughed at the thought saying "That was Mom alright, damn she showed her disapproval but she never complained to my face."

We both were silent for a few moments, most likely reminiscing and thinking about her, I did usually as after all she had been my whole world and for Jet he had supported her through our Dad leaving us when I was still small.

I held a lot of hatred there as well. Jet did as well I knew but then again this was no time to dwell on the past lest it open up any more memories we didn't need to be remembering.

"We'll be alright Jet, no need to think about the past now. The future will be brighter no matter what, the monster who killed our Mother and defiled our land is gone and the Empire is out of limbo with it's power restored."

Jet nodded but there was something he was clearly about to get off his chest that was disturbing him. I took a seat opposite him and dimmed the candle a little as he looked at me, seeming to have a debate with himself.

He swallowed, his throat sounding dry as he began to explain "Sombra already put Mom in the East Ridge Mines, your sector was next for cataloguing and I knew you'd be sent next."

My brother probably through some act of subterfuge was able to weasel himself into a position at the Office of Relocation where he helped slow and sabotage attempts to move ponies to the mines, sometimes helping the resistance.

His position wasn't enough to stop them happening en masse everyday however and he had shamefully had to sign off on a number of city quarters.

"Sombra was planning to advance the mining operation, damning the safety. He wanted all the North this time not just chunks. I was about to be discovered so, so I began talks with the head Spymaster to sell out my rebel contacts and known collaborators in exchange for your safe passage out of the Empire" he said as his breathing became shaky and his body tense.

The delicacy in the room turned to complete stillness, no sound, only our breathing as I realised that he had been about to betray everypony to Sombra in order to save me.

His voice cracked as he said "I don't… I don't think I s-should be allowed to l-lead this part" and he finally broke down, sobbing at his actions.

I was bewildered at the fact he loved me so much but at the same time emotions of empathy and anger rose as I demanded "Why Jet, you knew I was old enough, I would have lasted in the mines for a long time, Celestia and Luna saved everypony well before any kind of mass labour movement began."

Jet kept sobbing, it was hard to see him faltering in his confidence like this but this had obviously weighed on his conscious for a while and he replied "I-I-I lost h-hope little b-b-brother, I d-don't deserve to b-be a leader, I g-gave up on everypony."

I shook my head as he fell to the ground and yelled "You gave up on nopony, you are the best leader I know and the leader the Empire needs right now, to unite it under true colours and if you damn well disagree I swear I'll just walk out right now."

He didn't say anything, just continuing to sob, his eyes red. Seeing grown ponies cry was painful but my own brother was torture. I knelt down and cradled his head as I thought about any words to calm him but no words came to mind, though I never was good with words.

"Just keep it together bro, we'll get there" I said with a sigh as I tried not thinking about the past. The pain there was too great but I knew that it would keep piling up and festering until one day we'd all have to confront it.

I was terrified of that day but in all honesty at the same time I wanted it to be said and done, this insanity had to end.


End file.
